


pass by my door

by jinwoosmile



Category: ASTRO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Neighbors, Christmas, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-01
Updated: 2019-08-14
Packaged: 2019-10-20 08:23:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,902
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17618882
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jinwoosmile/pseuds/jinwoosmile
Summary: Sua was solely, entirely to blame for Bin’s demise. If it were not for her, Bin never would have found himself standing underneath mistletoe with his arm wrapped around Dongmin, hovering over his face with mere inches between them.In which Bin uses a fake date to get out of babysitting and it leads to asking his neighbor to pretend to be his boyfriend for the holidays.





	1. the lie

Sua was solely, entirely to blame for Bin’s demise. If it were not for her, Bin never would have found himself standing underneath mistletoe with his arm wrapped around Dongmin, hovering over his face with mere inches between them.

If it weren’t for Sua and her meddling, Bin never would have had to look down at Dongmin’s long, beautiful eyelashes, or his cheeks flushed with warmth and wine and no doubt embarrassment at the situation, or his perfect pink lips. Bin never would have had to feel his heart pound in his ears, desperately wanting to bend down and kiss Dongmin. Nope, this was definitely, without a doubt, because of Sua.

“What do you mean, you have plans?” Sua said, many months prior to when Bin would eventually be caught under the mistletoe with the most beautiful man in the world.

“I mean, I have plans,” Bin said, thumbing the speakerphone button so that he could dig through his bag to search for his keys.

Sua’s voice was sour. “Drinking with Minhyuk does not count as plans.” The tinny phone speaker made her voice reverberate down the hall, sounding even more displeased than usual.

“Standing plans definitely count as plans,” Bin said, straightening up with his key ring in hand and not bothering to take Sua off of speakerphone. “Besides, those aren’t even the plans for the evening.” His plans most definitely were his and Minhyuk’s standing chicken and beer night, but Bin knew that wouldn’t get him out of babysitting in this instance.

“What are the plans then?” Sua asked. In the background, Bin could hear the sound of children’s cartoons and Sua’s toddler daughter, Sumin, shrieking along with it.

Leaning against the door to his apartment, Bin grappled for an excuse decent enough to get out of babysitting. He adored his niece, but after a long day at work that capped off a long, rough week, he didn’t think he could survive several hours of princesses and makeup and putting on a happy face. Thankfully, as Bin’s mind seemed to putter out, the door of the next apartment down swung open, and Bin’s gorgeous neighbor stepped outside.

God. He even looked good in slippers and carrying a sack of trash.

“I have a date,” Bin spit out, surprising both his neighbor and his sister.

Sua, for one, was shocked into silence. Bin’s neighbor, whom he knew to be named Lee Dongmin, raised his eyebrows. Bin made some kind of gesture at his phone, trying to convey the message of “I don’t actually have a date I’m just struggling here” with a look.

Dongmin seemed to understand it though, and nodded with an amused smile as Sua’s voice finally came back to life over the line. “Well finally,” she said. “I hope it goes well enough that you can bring him home for Christmas later.”

“We’ll see,” Bin said. Dongmin was still hovering in the hallway, seeming amused by the conversation happening on the phone. “I hope you find someone to mind Sumin.”

“Chanhyuk better hope so too,” Sua said, speaking darkly of her boss at the event planning company she worked for. “Springing this dinner on me last minute. I swear to god, I’m going to skin that man and hang him out to dry. Have fun on your date, Binnie. I’ll talk to you later.”

“That’s oppa to you,” Bin tried to say, but Sua had already hung up. With a sigh, he tucked his phone away and finally went to put his keys in the door.

“You know, bad things happen to people that lie to escape babysitting,” Lee Dongmin said, shuffling past with his trash bag.

“After this week from hell, I’d like to see what the universe has left,” Bin said cheerfully, twisting the door open and smiling at his neighbor.

Dongmin laughed, and they bid a quick goodbye as Dongmin continued towards the stairs and Bin gratefully let himself into his apartment. As he collapsed against the door, now closed, he let himself slide down to the floor and sit there for a few minutes. Retail typically sucked ass, but being a manager and dealing with the highest return volume in the history of his store, a lack of traffic that led to low sales, and multiple delayed shipments, made it more of a fifth circle of hell.

If only he really did have a date to look forward to that night.

Being a retail manager had never been part of Bin’s life plan. During the winter of his senior year of college, he was hired as a seasonal worker at an all-natural bath products store called Origin. After the seasonal contract had ended, he’d been re-hired as a year-round part timer while he finished up his anthropology degree. After graduation, he went full time, and five years later he found himself sitting in the seat of store manager. It wasn’t glamorous or luxurious, but the pay got him a one bedroom apartment in Seoul without a roommate and an insane employee discount that practically guaranteed he’d have bath bombs and good skin care for life.

So despite not being the anthropologist he’d planned on, Bin was happy. He had great friends, good staff, a roof over his head, and an adorable niece that (most days) he loved watching. His mother and Sua were both of the opinion that he needed to find someone to share all that with, but Bin figured he was doing well enough that when the right person came along, it would fall into place easily.

Briefly, his thoughts strayed to his beautiful neighbor.

Lee Dongmin. a beauty, a kind soul, who had moved in a year ago and introduced himself with a container of homemade kimchi and a smile. He was everything a person wanted in a next door neighbor: friendly and quiet, without being nosy or terrifyingly silent.

A buzz from his cell interrupted Bin’s musing on what Dongmin must do for a living. A text from Minhyuk lit up his screen as Bin finally picked both his phone and himself up off the floor of his entryway, toeing off his shoes as he tapped out a reply confirming that he already had beer, all Minhyuk needed to do was bring the chicken.

* * *

Bin quickly forgot about the skipped babysitting duty. Life, as always, continued, and as the holidays approached his store got busier than ever. They doubled the staff with seasonal employees in order to keep up with the rising traffic. Having new staff was always a bit tricky - things fell through the cracks as people struggled to learn the ropes and the year-round employees suddenly found themselves having to direct new people. It had lead to lots of broken bath bombs, misplaced stock, and now, on this particular day, Bin’s keys being locked in his apartment.

Which was why he was sitting on the floor in the hallway, back up against his front door, feeling even more drained than he had when he left the shop. Pest control always came on the second Tuesday of the month, how could he forget that? As if to mock him, the door on the other side of the hallway still had the reminder slip that management put out every month taped to it.

With a great sigh, Bin lifted his phone. Still no reply from Minhyuk - god knows when he’d leave the dance studio. Groaning, Bin let his head fall back against the door with a clunk.

The sound of the elevator opening echoed down the hall, followed by footsteps coming in his direction. It took all of Bin’s willpower not to groan aloud again. Of all the times for his gorgeous neighbor to find him.

“You alright there?” Dongmin’s voice was smoother than silk.

Bin slowly looked over. Dongmin was hovering outside his door, dressed impeccably in a camel colored coat with a thick blue scarf. A leather messenger bag hung off his shoulder, and Bin could only dream of looking so put together.

With a shrug, he jerked a hand towards his door. “Forgot my keys this morning. Pest control locked them in.”

Dongmin hissed in sympathy. “Is someone coming to let you in?”

After explaining that he was waiting for his friend to bring over the spare key, Dongmin nodded again. At that point, Bin expected him to wish him luck and head into his apartment. They had officially fulfilled all the friendly neighbor requirements. Instead, though, Dongmin surprised him.

“Do you wanna come inside mine and wait? This hallway is always freezing.”

For a moment, Bin’s heart seemed to leap into his throat. He was caught for a second, mouth working to try and get out some words, _any words Moon Bin oh my god_ , before he finally stuttered, “Are you sure?”

Dongmin smiled, eyes crinkling, and Bin’s heart skipped another beat. “I mean, in the past year I’m pretty sure I haven’t heard you murder anyone through the wall. I figure I can extend friendly hospitality with relative safety.”

Bin laughed as he hauled himself up off the ground, grabbing his canvas tote as he went. Dongmin smiled and turned to unlock his door, and Bin couldn’t help but feel a little bit like a messy college students next to him, rather than a successful retail manager of five years. As he followed Dongmin into his apartment, the feeling compounded.

It wasn’t that Bin _didn’t_ have taste - the dress code at Origin was casual all black, which meant his wardrobe was mostly made up of that color. He had no need for fancy clothes beyond two pairs of dry-clean only pants and a blazer. And his apartment was, in his opinion, pretty nice. He had a couch and a desk, and a bedspread rather than just sheets on a mattress. He even had carefully arranged nick nacks on the built in bookshelf in the living room.

But his apartment could never stand up next to his neighbor’s - it was obvious, as he toed off his shoes and tried to pretend he wasn’t staring, that Dongmin had style.

“Do you drink coffee?” Dongmin asked, after hanging his bag on a hook (an actual hook, screwed into the wall, not just a Command hook like Bin had for his keys).

“Yeah,” Bin said, shuffling after Dongmin and trying not to be super obvious with his staring.

Like Bin’s, the entry of the apartment led straight into the kitchen, but Dongmin waved him through to the living room. Everything was coordinated, and had an obvious air of careful selection. The apartment itself was a mirror image to Bin’s, but somehow Dongmin seemed to have doubled the space in size with careful furniture arrangements, well placed rugs, and light colors. “This place is so nice,” Bin said aloud, stepping closer to the framed artwork of the night sky hanging over the couch.

“I would hope so,” Dongmin said, laughing lightly over the gurgling of the coffee maker. “I’m an interior designer at a firm downtown.”

Bin looked up at him with a pained expression, making Dongmin laugh louder. “You can never step foot next door,” he said sincerely.

Dongmin’s eyes sparkled as he pulled two coffee cups and honest-to-god saucers out of a cabinet, placing them on the peninsula extension of the counter that separated the kitchen and living room. Bin shuffled over as Dongmin poured coffee, feeling like even more of a piss-poor home furnisher as he settled into an actual bar chair of appropriate height to the counter, rather than the wobbly wooden stools he’d stolen out of his parents’ garage.

They chatted easily over coffee, covering topics from family (Dongmin asked about who had been on the phone in the hall all those weeks ago), work (they commiserate over the holidays and the people they drew in), and shared interests. The clock neared seven, Minhyuk still hadn’t returned his text, and Dongmin asked if, since they were on the topic of music, Bin was interested in watching the music shows.

Just like that, Bin found himself on Dongmin’s (extremely nice) couch, bopping his head to the music that played in his shop all day long.

After several stages, in the middle of the fifth or sixth boy group performance, Dongmin sighed. “ _How_ do they get their skin that clear?” he said, shaking the remote at the screen. “I’m twenty-seven and still get breakouts. I need whatever these kids are using.”

Bin squinted at the member in particular that Dongmin was pointing the remote at. “Ah. Not what that one does,” he said automatically.

Dongmin’s remote-brandishing stopped, and head turning to look at Bin. “Huh?”

Bin shrugged, trying to pretend that the fact that he had done skincare consultations on most of the members in that particular group wasn’t a big deal. “That one - Jinsoo, I think? I’m not sure, I’ve only met him once - he’s got really oily skin, super overactive. He uses a really intense regimen, it would dry most people out.”

If Dongmin’s shocked face was anything to go by, Bin guessed that knowing the skincare needs of an idol was not high on the list of conversation topics that he’d anticipated coming up. “This is all on like, the super down low,” Bin added, almost wishing he could backtrack. Surely it looked like a bit of a peacock move - _look at me, I know idols!_

By some grace of god, though, Dongmin didn’t seem put off by it. “How on earth do you know what these kids use?” Dongmin asked, leaning an elbow on the back of the couch and turning more fully to face Bin.

Smiling, Bin gestured to his phone. “Minhyuk, the friend I’m waiting on - he choreographs for idol groups. The poor kid was miserable - all that dancing and work, on top of naturally oily skin. Minhyuk recommended Origin to him and gave my name. It was all very hush hush - had an after-hours consultation, and now his manager drops buy to get his refills. A couple of the other members use our stuff. A lot of the girl groups, too.”

Exhaling, Dongmin leaned back. “Wild,” he breathed. “I didn’t know I was sitting next to a skincare guru, trusted by all the idols.”

Bin laughed. “More the products than me,” he said, trying to tamp down the pride swelling in his chest. Moments like this - when he got to let other people know how great the stuff from Origin was - reminded him of how he got sucked into the job.

Dongmin’s smile, though, was enough to distract him. “Maybe I should drop by for a consult, since they come so highly recommended.” His voice was flirty, body language open and relaxed as his shoulders tilted towards Bin.

Bin felt the back of his neck heating up, and nervous laughter bubbled up out of his chest. “Yeah, uh, yeah,” he said lamely, shifting a bit and reaching up to rub the hot skin of his nape. “That would - we could hook you up!” he said, cringing internally.

Thankfully for him, Dongmin seemed relatively unbothered. He continued smiling, shifting back so that he was less in Bin’s space and directing his attention back to the television. “Oh, this is one of my favorites!” he said brightly as I.U. took the stage.

Bin agreed, sinking into the couch and wishing that the floor of the twelfth story would open up and just let him fall down to the bottom, never to be seen or heard from again. Obviously, he couldn’t be trusted around anyone he was remotely interested in. God, no wonder he hadn’t had a date in ages.

As I.U. bopped around the stage, Bin’s phone finally, finally chirped, letting him know that Minhyuk was waiting outside his building, please come let him in because it was “fuxkign cold”. Ten minutes later he was back inside his own poorly decorated apartment, opening a beer for Minhyuk and complaining about what an idiot he made of himself.

“I mean, you did that all the time in college. It’s a wonder you had half as many dates as you did,” Minhyuk said, accepting the bottle and downing a large swig.

Bin frowned and flicked the bottle cap at his head.

* * *

In all honesty, it was a wonder that Bin had managed not to see Sua in the time between his escaped babysitting and the beginning of December. For that reason alone, he didn’t even try to argue when his little sister texted him, insisting that they meet up for lunch that week to “catch up.” Bin knew this to actually mean coordinating Christmas shopping, prompting him to bring a notebook and pen with him.

When he arrived to the cafe, Sua was nowhere to be seen, so Bin grabbed a large table and busied himself on his phone while waiting. He was midway down the Instagram page of the design firm Dongmin mentioned working for when the bell over the door rang, and a high-pitched cry of “Uncle Bin!” alerted him to his sister’s arrival.

Looking up, Bin caught Sua leaning down to place Sumin on the ground, letter her toddle over to him. “Suminnie!” he called, kneeling to scoop her up. Sumin immediately started placing wet (and slightly sticky) kisses on his cheeks, which he returned with enthusiasm.

“You’re gonna want to wash your face,” Sua said, leaning a hand against one of the chairs at the table Bin had commandeered and resting the other on her pregnant belly. “She had applesauce in the car.”

That explained the stickiness, at any rate. “That’s okay,” Bin said, smiling widely and mostly addressing Sumin. “Apple juice is in Babyface wash, it can be good for the skin. Right, Suminnie?” he said, as if she knew anything about skincare.

Nonetheless, the two year old chirped a bright, “Yes!”

Sua rolled her eyes, smiling despite herself. “I’m going to go get a coffee. Watch her for a moment.”

“Coffee?” Bin asked, eyes flicking down to her stomach. “Decaf, right?”

The glare Sua sent him was positively withering. “I said what I said,” she snapped, turning on her heel and stalking towards the counter with all the rage a pregnant woman could invoke.

Bin looked towards his niece, finding his own surely bemused expression mirrored. “Your mama is a piece of work,” he told her, and Sumin hummed. It sounded a bit like the theme to her favorite cartoon, but Bin took it as a sign of agreement as he settled into his original chair.

Upon her return, Sua set her coffee down with a bit more force than a cardboard cup warranted. “The boy behind the counter tried to give me decaf,” she said, lowering herself into the chair opposite Bin with a bit more gentleness. “I can have small doses of caffeine. It’s not going to hurt the baby.”

“It’s great to see you too, Sua,” Bin said, shifting Sumin to his other leg and bouncing her gently while reaching for his bag to get his notebook. “Hold on, Uncle’s getting yours,” he said, when Sumin immediately made a grab for his pen.

Sua sighed, her voice turning softer for the first time as Bin pulled out the coloring book and crayons he’d picked up on his way to the cafe that morning. “You’re so good with her,” she said. “Maybe you could keep her when this one comes, instead of trying to get her to Mom and Dad’s?” she asked, patting the top of her belly.

“I’ll see if I can arrange that,” Bin said. “But let’s get the boring part over with. Has Mom mentioned anything to you that she wants?”

They spent the next hour hashing out present plans, from parents to cousins to aunties and uncles that were all supposedly coming to the Moon house for Christmas. By the end of it, Bin had an obnoxiously long list of gifts to pick up from Origin, Sua had an Amazon list that would require a shipping box the size of his apartment, and Sumin had only colored on one thing that wasn’t the coloring book. As he made final checks, Sua waddled to the bathroom, complaining about her bladder for the umpteenth time that afternoon.

A handful of minutes later, she returned. “By the way,” she said. “How did that date go last month? Should I be getting a gift for a _special someone?”_

For a moment, Bin was left in utter confusion. He hadn’t had a date in months -

“I hope you’ve noticed that I’ve conveniently not asked you to babysit on Friday nights since you skipped out on us,” Sumin said primly, reaching across the table and pushing Sumin’s headband back into place.

Oh. “Yeah, uh, thanks for that.” Well, now he couldn’t just back out and say it was a lie. “The date was fine. We got dinner. It was - it was good,” Bin said, praying that this would be enough to assuage Sua’s curiosity.

Unfortunately, this only seemed to encourage her. Sua smiled at him from behind her coffee. “And have there been any more dates? I don’t want to be depriving you of your niece,” she cooed, reaching across the table and cupping Sumin’s face.

Panicked, Bin blurted, “Yep, yes, we’ve gone out a couple of times. It’s nice. No, not on Binnie’s notebook,” he said, scooting Sumin back on his knee and out of reach of his paper.

Sua seemed delighted. “Multiple dates!” she exclaimed, grabbing her pen once more. “Yes, they’re definitely getting a gift. Anyone that can put up with you for that much deserves some kind of reward.”

“Mean,” Bin mumbled, but Sua clicked her pen and spoke over him.

“Okay, name? Age? Male or female? Likes and dislikes? What’s their favorite color?”

Bin blinked. “Uh,” he said. Sumin stuck out a grubby hand and grabbed at his notebook, which he dutifully pushed out of her reach. Only one name and face was coming to his mind. “I don’t - I don’t know?”

Sua shot him a withering look. Bin felt his world slowly fall apart as Sumin managed to get a hold on the corner of his notebook, dragging it across the table and smearing her orange crayon across the page.

An hour later, Bin knocked anxiously on the door. A few seconds later, Lee Dongmin opened it, dressed impeccable and looking every bit as beautiful as Bin had pictured when Sua asked him who the dates had been with.

“Hi Bin,” Dongmin said, smiling pleasantly and leaning against the door jam.

“Hi,” Bin replied. “Can I ask you a favor?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> is it february? yes. am i posting christmas stuff anyway? also yes. am i ashamed? mildly.
> 
> this was going to be a oneshot but it was getting.....long so here we go a couple of chapters coming your way.


	2. the deceit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bin sighed. “Hypothetically, if you had made up a fake relationship to get out of something, and now your family was wanting them to come to Christmas, what would you do?”
> 
> Whatever she had been expecting, it wasn’t that. Eunbi’s face went from curious to surprised. “Is the fake relationship with a person that actually exists?”
> 
> Bin squirmed a bit in his seat. “Yes,” he finally said.
> 
> An automatic hiss in response. “Okay.” There was another silent few seconds where she seemed to be thinking. Then, much to Bin’s dismay, she started giggling. “Yeah, you’re fucked,” she said.

“All you have to do is accept her friend request on Facebook, I swear,” Bin said, twenty minutes and an _embarrassing_ explanation later.

Dongmin, praise whatever deity existed, mostly seemed amused. “I can do that,” he said, smiling lightly. Bin’s panicked arrival at his doorstep had led to them once more sharing coffee in Dongmin’s tasteful kitchen. Bin hadn’t even known that their landlord _let_ them change out the backsplash. “And all I have to tell her is that we’ve been going on dates for the past couple Fridays?”

Bin’s cheeks felt like they might burn off, but he nodded. “Yeah. Like I said, I am _so_ sorry.”

For someone who had just been informed that his name was used in a fake relationship, Dongmin seemed entirely too cheery. “I told you bad things happen when you lie to get out of babysitting,” he chuckled, taking a sip of coffee.

Pretending not to notice the way Dongmin’s collarless dress shirt framed his neck and exposed the barest hint of collarbone, Bin sighed. “I’m going to give you so many bath bombs.”

Dongmin’s laugh was loud and pure, and Bin carried the sound with him as he finally stumbled into his own apartment. It felt like an eternity had passed since he sat down in the coffee shop, but it was only three o’clock in the afternoon, on the only off-day he had for the next eight days. A mountain of laundry was spilling out of his closet, and he desperately needed to go grocery shopping.

“I want a nap,” Bin said aloud to the empty apartment. Unsurprisingly, no one responded. With a sigh, he grabbed his jar of quarters off the kitchen counter and shuffled towards his laundry.

The rest of the night passed uneventfully. At some point in the evening, Dongmin texted him a screenshot of a friend request from Sua and a winking face emoji. Bin made dinner, checked the sales statistics for the store online, and then went to bed.

It was when he woke up to his alarm at seven o’clock the next morning that the true extent of the consequences to his lie seemed to present themselves. Frowning at the loads of messages on his phone screen, Bin fumbled his glasses onto his face. There were texts from his mom, his cousins, and - Bin’s stomach dropped - Dongmin.

_[6:24 AM] From: Lee Dongmin_

_[image]_

_???_

The image was a screencap of Dongmin and Sua’s chat on Facebook. They must have been exchanging polite chatter, but the last message was what raised concern.

_Moon Sua_

_Yes, that is all super helpful information! I have an idea of what to get you now, as a reward for putting up with Binnie for the past couple months._

_[Read 9:41 PM]_

_Lee Dongmin_

_Haha, that’s not necessary! I don’t want to bother anyone :)_

_[Read 9:46 PM]_

_Moon Sua_

_I insist. I can’t wait to give it to you at Christmas. Everyone’s excited to meet you!_

_[Read 6:23 AM]_

Bin’s stomach was in the basement now. He quickly tapped out a reply to Dongmin, assuring him he had nothing to do with Sua’s suggestion that Dongmin was coming to family Christmas. He opened the cousin group chat, which consisted of several texts such as ‘BIN YOU HAVE A BOYFRIEND’ and ‘WHY WEREN’T WE TOLD’ from different people. Lacking the mental capacity to compose any kind of reply, Bin closed the messages and opened the texts from his mother, which were in a similar vein, along with an insistence that Bin bring Dongmin along for Christmas at the Moon household.

Panic flooded Bin’s body as he fumbled to call Sua.

“Why did you tell Mom,” he hissed, as soon as she picked up the call.

Sua’s laughter reflected amusement that Bin could not bring himself to share. “You’ve been dating for what, two months? The fact that you didn’t mention it for this long is an abomination in and of itself.”

“We haven’t - I didn’t -” Bin stammered.

“What?” Sua said primly.

There was a moment of silence, as Bin tried to come up with something to say. He couldn’t go back on the lie at this point - it had gone too deep already, and it had barely been eighteen hours.

“Binnie,” Sua started.

“Oppa,” Bin corrected, automatically. It was a feeble way to buy time, but he used it nonetheless.

“Binnie-oppa,” Sua amended. “If you’re worried about bringing him ‘round the family, it’s going to be fine. The first time I brought Junseo to Christmas, we had only been dating for what, like, three weeks at the time? Now we’re married and I’m a walking whale for second time around. If he’s worth his salt then this will be a great thing for you two.”

Bin scrubbed his face with his hand. It was seven fifteen, and he had to be at the shop at eight. “I don’t even know his plans for the holidays,” he said finally. It was the best he could think to say, when anything else would involve coming clean about a lie that had already grown entirely out of proportion.

This, at least, seemed to hold some kind of clout with Sua. “Well find out,” she said with a groan. “Mom’s over the moon about it and _I_ don’t want to be the one to ruin that.”

“ _Then why did you tell her about it_ ,” Bin hissed.

“Well I have to go get Sumin up!” Sua said quickly. “Have a good day at work, sell lots of bath bombs, Binnie!”

“Oppa to you,” Bin said, but she had already hung up. With a groan, he flopped back onto the bed.

He spent the rest of the day trying to decide what to do. Bin operated on autopilot, running the shop with the bare minimum of thought needed. His entire brain power was focussed on trying to decide how to proceed. Texting Minhyuk had proved no help, he only got back a string of laughing stickers.

“You doing alright, pal?”

Bin jerked out of his thoughts as his assistant manager, Eunbi, plopped down in the chair next to him in the back room. “Yeah, I’m...fine,” Bin said. Boxes of bath bombs towered on shelves above them, and Eunbi reached between two of the bestsellers and produced a bag of candy.

“You sure have been broody for someone that’s fine,” she said, tossing him a mini KitKat.

With a sigh, Bin leaned back in his chair, shoving the candy into his mouth and chewing furiously. Eunbi watched him expectantly, cocking a perfectly groomed eyebrow when he finally swallowed. Bin sighed again. “Hypothetically, if you had made up a fake relationship to get out of something, and now your family was wanting them to come to Christmas, what would you do?”

Whatever she had been expecting, it wasn’t that. Eunbi’s face went from curious to surprised, and then she proved exactly why Bin liked her as her expression turned thoughtful and she leaned back in her own seat. “Is the fake relationship with a person that actually exists?”

Bin squirmed a bit in his seat. “Yes,” he finally said.

An automatic hiss in response. “Okay.” There was another silent few seconds where she seemed to be thinking. Then, much to Bin’s dismay, she started giggling. “Yeah, you’re fucked,” she said.

“Eunbi,” Bin whined.

“Sorry, sorry. Okay, how well do you know the person?”

“He’s my neighbor,” Bin said.

Eunbi’s eyes sparkled. “Your neighbor,” she repeated. “Your neighbor, as in the hot guy that brought you kimchi when he moved in? The one you haven’t shut up about for the three years he’s lived next door?”

Bin wished the ground would swallow him whole. “Help me or get back out on the floor, Hwang.”

“Okay, okay.” Eunbi sat up a bit straighter in her chair, tossing a lock of hair over her shoulder. “How likely do you think he is to be understanding about everything? Is there like, a snowball’s chance in hell that he’d be willing to go along with this nonsense lie and go to your house for the holidays?”

“I don’t know,” Bin groaned. “He was willing to accept Sua’s friend request on Facebook, which is what started this whole mess.”

“Okay, so he’s already way too nice. How did he react when you asked him to do that?”

“He seemed amused, mostly.”

Eunbi shook her head, seeming in awe. “How do you find all the impossibly perfect guys? Minhyuk is like, a Greek god, your cousins can all sing and that one loud one is dating a famous composer - honestly, can you start sending your energy my way?”

If sending Eunbi his energy meant that she had to deal with this whole situation instead of him, Bin would have happily done so. Instead, though, he found himself staring at his phone as he rode the subway home, wondering how he should even phrase what he needed to ask.

_[6:38 PM] To: Lee Dongmin_

_do u have time to grab coffee or smth tonight?_

Dongmin replied with a quick affirmative. They arranged to meet at a cafe a short walk from their apartment building, and Bin all but jogged there when he got off the subway. Dongmin was already there, and Bin dropped his bag at the table with him before darting to the counter. If he was going to have this conversation, he needed to be caffeinated and somehow the idea of setting a RedBull on the table in front of Dongmin just felt wrong.

“Your sister is charming,” Dongmin said, when Bin slid into the chair across from him. Somehow, he seemed to be sincere, even though Sua had said he was coming to Christmas with the family in no uncertain terms.

Bin gulped down a large swig of coffee, swallowing around the extremely hot liquid. “She’s something,” he said. “A disrespectful little sister, at any rate.”

Dongmin laughed, and Bin tried to enjoy it before he tested the boundaries of “good neighbor.” The best course of action he could come up with was to proceed casually.

“Do you have any plans for Christmas?” he asked, taking another sip of scalding coffee.

Humming, Dongmin shook his head. “My younger brother lives in China, and my parents decided to visit him this year. My company’s online software is blocked over there and I have remote work I have to during the season, so I’m having a party of one. You can imagine my surprise when Sua seemed to have made plans for me.” Somehow, Dongmin still seemed amused by the whole thing.

Bin laughed, awkwardly playing with his coffee cup. “Yeah she’s...something. Okay, let’s rip the bandaid off.” Bin leaned back in his chair, rubbing the back of his neck anxiously. “They want you to come to Christmas.”

Dongmin nodded. “I gathered that from Sua’s message,” he said, and Bin really wished he could go back in time and just babysit Sumin for three hours instead of sitting through this misery.

With a shaky breath, Bin finally leapt off the cliff. “Do you think - since you’re not doing anything - you might...like...”

“Come to Christmas and pretend to be your boyfriend?”

Even though it was an extremely obvious conclusion, Bin’s mouth still worked like a fish for a moment. “Yeah,” he managed, swallowing around a dry throat. “Yeah, that.”

Dongmin smiled kindly. “Sua continued to message me after I sent you that screenshot,” he said, pulling his phone out and passing it to Bin. It was open to Dongmin’s messaging app, where Sua, Bin discovered as he scrolled, had been sending extremely clear cut directions, dress codes, and family lists, since Bin “seems incapable of managing it.”

“I don’t understand,” Bin said, when he kept scrolling through what seemed to be more than fifty messages between Dongmin and his sister. “Why didn’t you tell her the truth?”

Dongmin shrugged. “Like I said, I don’t have anything planned for Christmas. You sister seemed really excited, and it didn’t quite feel like my place to spoil her fun.” His smile made his eyes crinkle up, and if Bin hadn’t already been nursing the world’s biggest crush he would have fallen right then and there.

At a loss for words, Bin passed Dongmin’s phone back across the table.  “I...thank you, so much.” Bin rubbed the back of his neck.

Smiling, Dongmin stood up from the table. “It’s been a long time since I did anything stupid and fun,” he said. “Now. We have to make up a story to cover two months of fake dating, and I haven’t had dinner. Let me buy?”

It was as if someone had stuffed Bin’s head full of cotton. In an enchanted daze, Bin stood up and followed Dongmin out of the cafe. They ended up at a ramen shop, where they spent several hours planning out their past dates. As promised, Dongmin insisted on paying for the meal, even though Bin ate two full serving sizes as they sat and talked. When they walked back to the apartment building, they had decided that Dongmin had asked Bin out first and most of their dates involved movies and food.

“I’ll text you more details about dates and stuff tomorrow,” Bin said, pausing as they reached Dongmin’s door. “I’m gonna call my mom and get all the info.”

“Sounds great,” Dongmin said, smiling as he unlocked his door. Before entering the apartment, he stuck his hand out. “Looking forward to being your fake boyfriend,” he said, shaking Bin’s hand firmly.

“The feeling’s mutual,” Bin said, grinning back. For a moment, they continued to hold hands. The air shifted suddenly, and Dongmin hovered on the threshold of his front door. Bin felt drawn to him, as if by clasping hands they had kick-started a magnetic field that only the two of them were a part of. Feeling slightly delirious, Bin wondered if he should lean in.

_That_ was the moment that Bin realized he needed to tear himself away before he did anything more regrettable than this entire situation. “Have a good night!” he all-but-shouted, hoping it didn’t sound as strangled as it felt. He darted the two yards away to his door, fumbled with his keys, then left Dongmin in the hallway with a slam of his front door.

Once inside his apartment, he slid down the front door until he was sitting among his shoes, much the same way he did two months ago after lying to Sua on the phone. The hand that had held Dongmin’s was tingling lightly, as if it remembered the feeling of Dongmin’s palm. Groaning, Bin let his head fall against the door with a _thunk_. He silently cursed whatever possessed him to spit out _Lee Dongmin_ when Sua asked him who he’d been dating. Eunbi’s mirth at the situation was completely justified.

* * *

 The next few weeks proceeded in a similar, self-cursing fashion. Work provided enough distraction during the day, with the huge increase in traffic and panicked present-buyers, but once Bin got home in the evenings he was fielding phone calls from his mom, texting Dongmin questions about his favorite dishes so that he could relay the information to his mother, and trying desperately to reconcile the fact that he was going to spend a week in very close proximity to his crush of three years, pretending that he had acted on that very crush three months ago.

“The shipping company hasn’t delivered before nine in the past two weeks, so be prepared to deal with receiving _and_ the Christmas shoppers.”

“I know, Binnie.”

“And if the fresh face masks don’t get here by five on Friday the whole batch is a write-off,” Bin continued, as if Eunbi hadn’t spoken.

“I know, Binnie.”

“ _And_ Jeongwoon has the flu, so you need to make sure there’s a keyholder that’s here to cover his shifts-”

“Binnie,” Eunbi said, grabbing Bin’s clipboard out of his hands. “I’ve been the assistant manager for four years. I can run the shop without you for a week.”

Bin sighed. “Sorry,” he said. “I know you can do it.” He rubbed his thighs anxiously, scooting forward so that he was tucked up into the manager’s corner (which consisted of a tiny desk crammed between two stock shelves) a bit more thoroughly. It was the day before his first Christmas vacation in the five years he’d worked for Origin was set to state. A day before he and Lee Dongmin would begin their week-long charade, which would start with a four hour car drive early in the morning. “I’m just...anxious.”

From her standing position, Eunbi sighed. She passed him back his clipboard, then dragged a folding chair so that she could grab one of his hands. “Look, Binnie, the shop will be fine. I’ve been here for four Christmases. You haven’t had a holiday off since before you started working here. _Please_ try and relax, okay?” She gave his hand a squeeze, and Bin tried desperately to meet her reassuring smile with something other than a grimace. “And,” she said with a serious air, letting go of his hand to reach up and cup his cheek. “If you play your cards right, you actually might get some dick this Christmas.”

With a squawk, Bin batted her hand away from his face as Eunbi cackled. “You’re as bad as Sua,” he huffed, shoving out of the desk and gathering up his back.

Eunbi grinned up at him. “Enjoy your fake boyfriend,” she sang.

“Maybe I will,” Bin said, zipping his jacket up. Then, because she was one of his best friends, he gave her a hug and wished her a happy Christmas before high-tailing it out of the shop.

Bin’s bravado of potentially enjoying the fake relationship faded almost as soon as he made it back into his apartment, where he spent three hours packing and going through a million what-ifs in his head. He slept fitfully, almost relieved when his alarm went off at five o’clock in the morning. With an amount of energy that was usually foreign to him before ten AM and three cups of coffee, Bin scrambled around his apartment to gather his things.

At precisely five thirty, he locked his front door for the week, and walked the two yards over to Dongmin’s apartment.

He only had to wait a handful of seconds after knocking, and honestly, he should have known to prepare himself.

_You’re dead_ , his brain said. _So, so dead._ Because, standing in front of him with a sleepy smile, was Lee Dongmin. Lee Dongmin, wearing a pair of wire-rimmed glasses, in the most casual clothes Bin had ever seen him in. He was decidedly _soft_ , with slightly messy hair and pillow lines still making a pink pattern on his cheek.

“Sorry,” Dongmin said, and _fucking hell_ Bin was not prepared for the rumble of a morning voice that came out of his chest. Dongmin seemed to notice that Bin was staring (quite openly) at his pale blue sweatshirt and track pants that were stretching around his thighs. With a sheepish smile, Dongmin pulled a jacket on. “I have nicer clothes to put on at a rest stop,” he said.

_Act like a human!_ The voice in his head was starting to sound strangely like Minhyuk. Shaking himself, Bin pulled the best smile he could manage. “No worries,” he said, reaching out and grabbing the handle of Dongmin’s rolling suitcase. “My family’s really chill, you shouldn’t worry about it.”

Dongmin gave him another soft, sleepy smile, and it took all of Bin’s self-control not to come clean and tell Dongmin about his three-year crush right then and there. “I wanted to be comfy on the drive,” he said, locking his front door and then starting the short trek to the elevator.

They spent ten minutes finding Bin’s car in the parking lot a street over, and then another fifteen rearranging the trunk to accommodate their bags, the gifts that Bin had bought from Origin, and then the presents that Dongmin had insisted (against Bin’s assurances that they weren’t at all necessary) on purchasing for some of Bin’s family.

When they were finally on the road, Bin put on a quiet playlist and within half an hour, they were on the interstate. Dongmin drifted to sleep quickly, his head lolling onto the window. Bin snuck glances of him every so often, marveling at how beautiful he was, even in sleep. Around seven the sun started to rise, and Dongmin with it.

They exchanged quiet conversation every now and then, each mostly content to enjoy the meager warmth of the winter sun and let the music fill the silence. About halfway through the journey, Bin pulled off at a rest stop. Dongmin disappeared inside the building while Bin filled the car up with gas, and when Dongmin returned he was dressed in a smart but casual combination of jeans and sweater. He was also holding two coffees and a bag with the logo of Bin’s favorite toast shop on it. Bin accepted his egg toast and coffee, trying not to melt into a puddle of goo as he did so.

The second half of the journey was a bit more lively, as they talked about anything and everything that came to mind and the music was switched to a more energetic playlist. As they drew closer to the Moon house, Bin regaled Dongmin with stories about the cousins he was going to meet.

“I swear to god, he’s the loudest person I’ve ever had the misfortune of meeting,” Bin continued, carefully rounding the corners of the neighborhood he grew up in.

Dongmin was grinning ear to ear. “He sounds wonderful. I look forward to meeting him.”

Bin sighed, pulling the car into his parents’ driveway. “The innocence of someone who has never spent five minutes with Kim Myungjun,” he said wistfully. “I forgot what that was like.” He looked over at Dongmin, grinning, and was pleased to find a broad smile in return. With a satisfied sigh, Bin looked up at his childhood home. There were already several cars parked in the driveway, promising that several extended family members were already settling into the Moon household.

A bit of anxiety crept into Bin’s stomach. Now that he was here, looking his lie straight in the face, he wasn’t sure that it would work. And what would he tell his mom, when she discovered that he had brought a perfect stranger into her house for _Christmas_ of all days?

A warm hand settling on top of his startled Bin out of his thoughts. He looked over and found Dongmin smiling at him reassuringly. “Parents love me,” he said. “And I like you - whatever happens this week, we’re going to emerge friends.”

Bin’s heart had puttered when Dongmin uttered the phrase “I like you”, but he shook himself. _Friends_ , he thought, looking back at the house. _You’re friends_. “You’re right,” he said with a sigh. “Let’s go meet the family.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it's still february but WELCOME TO CHRISTMAS TIME
> 
> your comments are so appreciated <3 i'm blown away by the initial response everyone has had - i hope that you'll continue to enjoy!!!!! i've rejoined tumblr in the past month, if you wanna interact any more closely you can always feel free to drop by [jinwoosmile](https://www.jinwoosmile.tumblr.com) :3


	3. meeting the moon(s)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dongmin turned towards Bin. “Good morning,” he said brightly. “You’re a heavy sleeper.”
> 
> “Yeah,” Bin agreed, melting under his gaze. “That’s me.” Dongmin’s smile was warm, and Bin wondered if this is what falling through the ice of a frozen lake would feel like - easy and weightless, but with the cold grip of reality encasing you from every side. _Bad things happen to people that lie,_ Bin remembered as he turned away, trying to convince his heart that he hadn’t already fallen.

The front porch of the Moon household was very welcoming. There was a small table, flanked by several chairs, that invited you to bring lemonade out during the summer and call hellos to the neighbors as you enjoyed it. While Bin and Sua grew up, their jump ropes and skates and soccer balls littered the porch. There was still a bit of a wobble in the wooden railing from the summer that Minhyuk came up from Jinju and spent three weeks with the family, and he and Bin decided that scaling the railing and leaping off was the only way to improve their ninja reflexes. 

Despite all the good memories on the front porch, Bin couldn’t help the anxiety that worked its way into his throat as he mounted the stairs to the front door, Dongmin following closely. He tried the front door, found it locked, and gave a loud rap on it with his knuckles. 

Shouting could be heard from inside, followed by footsteps. Just as the door was pulled open, Dongmin suddenly surged closer, pressing a warm hand into the small of Bin’s back.  

“Binnie!” his mom shouted, her hands up in the air.  

“Mom!” Bin shouted back, hoping desperately that she didn’t notice the flush that had suddenly flared onto his cheeks. He leaned into her hug, and even as he moved Dongmin’s hand remained steady on his back. 

“Oh, I’m so glad you’re home,” his mother said, holding his hands as she pulled back. Her eyes drifted to the man whose hand was burning a hole into Bin’s back. “And you must be Dongmin! I’m Lee Jieun,” she said excitedly, dropping Bin’s hands in favor of reaching out to take Dongmin’s instead. 

Dongmin bowed low, perfectly respectful. “It’s lovely to meet you, Mrs. Lee.” 

Bin could practically see his mother melt as she pulled both of them into the entryway and out of the cold. There was a flurry of hellos as his father joined them (“My husband, Moon Seonghun,” his mother said), shaking Dongmin’s hand firmly. Bin was beginning to feel a bit of confidence, that maybe that would his entire scheme could work.

“You two are going to be in Binnie’s old room,” his mother was saying. “Binnie, show your friend where your room is.”

“Yes ma’am,” Bin said dutifully, hauling his duffle bag up onto his shoulder and grabbing the handle of Dongmin’s (far classier) rolling suitcase. “We’re gonna go towards the stairs,” he said to Dongmin, nodding down the hallway.

Dongmin seemed surprised that Bin had grabbed his luggage. “I can get my own stuff, babe,” he said. Bin’s stomach seized in surprise at the pet name. He looked away, trying not to let it show on his face, and caught his father’s gaze.

His parents were standing together, both smiling widely. Bin’s dad gave him a thumbs up. Bin hoped he didn’t look pained as he returned the gesture.

“Your cousins are in the spare room,” his mother called to their retreating backs. “They’ll be excited to meet you, Dongmin!”

As they rounded the corner of the hallway, Dongmin turned back to face Bin. “Was that too much?” he asked, seeming genuinely concerned. “I thought it might make things a bit more realistic.”

For a brief moment, Bin was incredibly put out by just how much better than him Dongmin seemed to be at this whole pretend-relationship thing, given that he was the one that had suggested it. Almost immediately he tossed the thought aside, deeming it more ridiculous than the entire situation. “Nah, it was good,” he said, urging Dongmin to start up the stairs with a nod. “I’m gonna apologize in advance for how small my room is, though.”

As they climbed the stairs, Bin could start to hear voices coming from the far end of the hall - a sharp shriek confirmed that it had to be his cousins. For a moment, Bin considered locking him and Dongmin in his room and never facing his cousins, ever - but as he nudged open the door to drop their bags off, he was confronted with the fact that his room remained unchanged from when he abandoned it after high school. That is to say, covered in anime posters, with manga and manhwa spilling over the desk and floor. His figurines sat atop nearly every surface, as if mocking him for leaving them behind when he moved out.

Bin had a brief second to consider turning around and pretending that he’d forgotten the layout of his parent’s house - _whoops, this isn’t his room after all, let’s just leave our bags in the hall and go say hello to everyone_. But then Dongmin peeked around his shoulder and said, “Nice posters.”

Bin swallowed. “Thanks,” he said, opening the door all the way and letting them both inside. Somehow, Dongmin seemed completely genuine in his compliment. Bin tried not to marvel at Dongmin’s ease in this unfamiliar space as the other man walked the short distance to the headboard, examining the collection of _One Piece_ manga issues on the shelf above the bed. Shaking himself, Bin dropped his bag on the edge of the bed and silently thanked his parents for letting him get a full bed when he and Sua had gotten their own rooms. 

“Hey, is this yours?” Dongmin asked, turning towards Bin with a white gift bag with colorful tissue paper in his hands. “It was on the nightstand.”

Frowning, Bin shook his head. “Must be from my mom,” he said, reaching over and plucking a blue sticky note from the side of the bag. “ _An early Christmas present_ ,” he read aloud, as Dongmin dumped the bag over and the contents spilled out. “ _Stay safe, love Mom,_ ” Bin continued, realizing with horror what was happening as Dongmin moved aside the tissue paper.

There was a beat. Both of them stared down at what was multiple boxes of condoms, innocently lain upon the navy bedspread.

Frozen, Bin could hear nothing but blood rushing in his ears as seemingly his entire circulatory system flooded his neck and face. He stood there, paralyzed, unable to dart forward and swipe the offending boxes off the bed and into the ether of his room like he so desperately wanted to. “My mom...” he choked out, trying to come up with any kind of explanation. “She’s a nurse...”

To his credit, Dongmin remained remarkably composed. Instead of immediately fleeing (for which Bin would not have blamed him), he looked up and calmly said, “Have you ever seen _Haikyuu_?”

All of Bin’s breath rushed out of his body as relief overtook his system. “Yes,” he said, sweeping the condoms onto floor and kicking them under the bed. “Do you watch it?”

Dongmin launched into a narrative about watching the anime through college, and Bin couldn’t help but notice that for the first time since he’d met him, Dongmin seemed flustered. His cheeks glowed a bit pink, making him look even more lovely than usual. The anime conversation carried them back into the hallway, where Bin slowly led Dongmin towards the spare room.

Before he opened the door, Bin turned and looked at Dongmin. “I want to warn you,” he said seriously. “They are some of the...” he struggled for a moment, searching for a way to say “most obnoxiously loud people in the world” without being an ass. “...most extroverted people I know.”

Dongmin’s eye smile in response nearly sent Bin into heart palpitations. “I’m sure it’ll be fine,” he said. 

Almost as if they could sense someone on the other side of the door, the room exploded into yells. Bin was certain he could hear one Kim Myungjun above the rest, screaming something about cheating. With a sigh, Bin gave Dongmin a crooked smile. “We’ll see,” he said, and then shouldered into the room.

As expected, the room was in chaos. Two of Bin’s cousins were standing toe to toe in front of the television, Wii remotes dangling from their wrists. 

“It’s not _possible_ to cheat at Just Dance!” Seungkwan said hotly.

“Obviously it has to be, because you _beat_ me!” Myungjun fired back.

“Maybe your remote is dying, Myungjun,” Jinwoo offered calmly from his perch on the old couch.

Next to him, Suhyun snorted. “It worked just fine for me not five minutes ago,” she said dismissively, picking at her nails. “Maybe Myungjun’s just bad at the game,” she added, a sly edge to her voice. Myungjun whipped towards her, about to yell what was sure to be a cutting insult, but he caught sight of Bin hesitating in the doorway. 

“Moon Bin!” he yelled instead, and Bin breathed out a heavy sigh as a grin pulled at the corners of his mouth. “You’re fucking late, you’ve missed half the tournament!”

“Shut up, Myungjun, look at who’s behind him,” Seungkwan snapped, crossing the room and shoving Bin out of the way to extend a hand out to Dongmin. “Boo Seungkwan,” he said primly over Bin’s shout. 

Dongmin’s amused smile was a sight to behold. “Lee Dongmin,” he returned, shaking Seungkwan’s hand firmly with a slight bow.

“So polite!” Seungkwan exclaimed, using his grip on Dongmin’s hand to yank him all the way into the room and shutting the door in one smooth motion. “We’ve already gotten fussed at for noise twice,” he said by way of explanation.

“We?” Suhyun said, with a raised eyebrow.

Seungkwan dismissed her with a flap of his hand. Shaking his head, Bin leaned against the wall, the idea of doing introductions himself dying quickly. “Ignore Miss Priss,” Seungkwan said. 

“Miss Priss has a name, and it’s Lee Suhyun,” she said, standing up and brushing her skirt off to greet Dongmin properly. 

Seungkwan rolled his eyes. “She’s just mad that I knocked her out of the tournament,” he said, continuing to push Dongmin around the small circle of people in the room. “Here’s the other half of the boyfriend club until Sua and Junseo get here,” he said, gesturing for Jinwoo to stand up. 

“‘Sup, man?” Jinwoo said, greeting Dongmin with a hug instead of a handshake.

Dongmin’s smile still hadn’t faltered. “You’re the music producer, right?” Bin felt a momentary surge of appreciation for the extensive family profiles he’d done during the weeks before now.

Before Jinwoo could answer for himself, Myungjun nearly catapulted over the arm of the couch to drape himself over Jinwoo’s back. “That’s him, he’s very talented,” he said, extending a hand over Jinwoo’s shoulder. “I’m Kim Myungjun, and if I let Seungkwan introduce me my good name will be sullied.”

“You sully it yourself, don’t try to blame me,” Seungkwan snipped. “What year were you born?” he asked, going back to Dongmin eagerly.

Dongmin responded easily, and the barrage of questions Seungkwan had no doubt been saving up since the moment Sua had mentioned Dongmin’s existence began. 

With another sigh, Bin interrupted before he could get much further than asking after Dongmin’s blood type. “Can you leave him alone, please?”

“Oh no, Mr. Moon,” Suhyun said, wagging an accusing finger at him from where she’d settled back onto the couch. “You’ve kept him hidden from us for three months, this is your punishment.”

“You can’t imagine how hurt we were that we had to find out about you from Sua,” Myungjun said to Dongmin seriously.

Bin caught Dongmin’s eye. “I’m sure you can imagine why I didn’t say anything,” he said seriously, and in that moment, it was incredibly easy to pretend that he had, in fact, been hiding a relationship for a quarter of a year. 

Dongmin grinned at him and Jinwoo snorted a laugh, immediately attracting the attention of Myungjun. “Don’t conspire with them, Park Jinwoo, you’re on my side!” he said, shoving Jinwoo in the shoulder.

The bickering continued well into the night, carrying them through the rest of the Wii games. They were called down not long after to walk across the street to the Boo house, where dinner was waiting and the older generation of the family was residing.

As they left the house, Dongmin grabbed Bin’s hand and laced their fingers together, and Bin thought his heart might explode out of his chest. “I know we didn’t talk about this before,” Dongmin whispered, leaning in to speak lowly into Bin’s ear. “Is it okay?”

“Fine,” Bin rasped out, hoping his gulp wasn’t noticeable in the dim twilight. He cleared his throat, then inquired, “How are you holding up? I know they can be a lot.”

If Dongmin had looked beautiful under the fluorescent lighting of their apartment building hallways, he looked practically ethereal with the blue December light and light snow flurries swirling around him. “It’s wonderful, Bin. I’ll take family that obviously cares very much about you to spending the holidays alone in my apartment.”

Bin ducked his head, a pleased flush turning his ears hot. Clearing his throat, he lifted his face again. “Sua and her husband are supposed to be arriving tomorrow, I think,” he said. 

The sudden weight of another person on Bin’s other elbow jerked him back into reality. “What are we talking about?” Suhyun asked, wrapping her hands around Bin’s arm. “Flirting? Don’t you go doing that in front of my mother, she’ll quote it to you forever. She can still tell you the first pickup line she heard Chanhyuk give Jisook.”

Dongmin snickered on Bin’s right, his warm breath ghosting over Bin’s ear as he retreated from being quite so close and they crunched over fresh snow. “What am I, your personal space heater?” Bin asked, trying to distract himself from the knowledge the way that Dongmin was _existing right there._  

Suhyun tutted. “Obviously,” she said. “Myungjun-oppa stole my mittens, so I can’t associate with them right now.”

Dongmin laughed again, warm next to Bin. He squeezed Bin’s hand, and Bin wasn’t sure if it was instinct or if it was to mean something.

“Where’s Chanhyuk?” Bin asked, stomping his feet as they climbed up the stairs to the front door to knock off the snow. 

“They went to Jisook’s family for Christmas - they have to show the baby off there since we got them at Chuseok,” Suhyun said breezily. As soon as they crossed the threshold of the house, she let his elbow go, yelling, “Kim Myungjun! You give me my mittens back right now!”

Bin risked a glance at Dongmin, and could do nothing but grin at the bright smile on Dongmin’s face. “Your family is wonderful,” Dongmin said earnestly, that tender smile directed straight at Bin. Heart suddenly pounding in his ears, Bin pressed a little closer to Dongmin, squeezing his hand.

The quiet moment was rapidly interrupted as Bin’s aunts flooded the entryway, eager to meet the most recent addition to the celebrations. With a bit of reluctance, Bin dropped Dongmin’s hand and stepped out of the way, watching as his aunts cooed over Dongmin, complimenting his manners, his style, his looks. Bin could hardly believe how smoothly the entire ploy was going.

“Ah, young love,” Myungjun sighed, jerking Bin out of his thoughts. “Jinwoo, why don’t you look at me like that anymore?”

Jinwoo, ever good-natured, rolled his eyes while Bin’s ears burned.

The rest of the night continued without a hitch. Dongmin chatted easily with all the members of his family. Their rehearsed answers to all the questions about their dating life came out easily - Bin only fumbled a handful of times, and each time Dongmin gave him a fond smile, as if it was something that had happened a million times before. Bin’s aunties ate it up, tittering every time it happened.

After dinner, the universe’s blessings continued to rain down - most people had travelled into town that day and a general consensus of exhaustion was taken. They said goodnight to everyone staying in the Boo house (which included Suhyun and her parents, as well as Myungjun’s mother). Getting back into the Moon house, Bin’s own parents almost immediately retired to their room.

Trying not to leave them open to potential verbal poking by Myungjun, Bin swept himself and Dongmin upstairs just as quickly. Once they were safely inside Bin’s room, he sagged against the door. Dongmin flopped back on the bed, and for the first time since they’d walked into the house many hours ago, it was quiet. 

“Thank you,” Bin said after a while, finally finding the energy to push himself off the wall and towards his duffle bag. 

“Hmm?” Dongmin’s eyes were closed, and his dark eyelashes fanned over his cheekbones delicately. 

Bin was unable to stop the way his lips curled upwards. “Thanks,” he said. “This is...I don’t know if anyone’s ever done a favor of this magnitude for me. So like. Thanks, a lot.”

Eyes still closed, Dongmin smiled. “It’s been lovely.” Finally, he let his eyes flutter open and rolled off the bed to retrieve his bag.

Bin turned his back to shuck his clothes, shrugging on a tank top and old sweatpants quickly and turning back to the bed. When he did, he caught sight of Dongmin’s bare back. The unexpected definition of Dongmin’s back muscles nearly knocked Bin down. In a desperate attempt not to stare, he instead turned to the bed and for the first time was confronted with the fact that they would be sharing a bed.

Bin blinked. Somehow, he’d completely neglected to think about this concept. A full bed, while lightyears better than a twin, was still relatively small. Especially when you were cramming two men of Bin and Dongmin’s size into it. He risked a glance towards Dongmin and was relieved to see him fully clothed. “I can go crash on the couch in the living room if you want,” Bin offered. “I know this is small, I didn’t think about it before now.”

Dongmin frowned. “Will that look suspicious?” he asked. “I mean...” He kicked at something on the ground, and a box of condoms hit Bin in the shin. “Your family obviously thinks we’re comfortable sharing a bed.”

Ears burning, Bin darted for the covers and turned them down. “You’re right,” he said, clearing his throat. “Let’s get to sleep then, yeah?”

Dongmin opened his mouth to say something, then, seeming to rethink, closed it. “Please,” he said, punctuating it with a yawn.

Bin shuffled over to the door, waiting by the lightswitch until Dongmin had settled on the mattress. It was a bit of a hazard to navigate back to the bed in the dark, but Bin managed to get there without stepping on a stray figurine or slipping on a manga. After settling, he stared up at the ceiling, acutely aware of how close Dongmin was. The bed was just big enough that they could lay next to each other without touching, but small enough that Bin could feel Dongmin’s body heat radiating off of him. They lay there in silence for a while. 

The urge to toss and turn was thrumming in Bin’s veins. Despite the exhaustion of several hours in the car and spending so much time with so many people biting at the back of his eyes, energy buzzed under his skin. It was as if he’d been plugged into an electrical socket. 

After what felt like hours but couldn’t have been more than fifteen minutes, he jerked upright. “I’ll sleep on the floor,” he announced, loud in the quiet room, and threw the covers off.

Before he could get out of the bed, Dongmin’s hand shot out, grabbing his wrist. “Don’t be stupid,” he huffed. His voice had started to slip into the sleepy breathiness that he’d greeted Bin with that morning. “Just go to sleep.”

The buzzing seemed to coalesce where Dongmin’s hand was wrapped around his arm, and Bin was frozen. Dongmin’s grip was surprisingly firm for someone that seemed to be all but asleep - Bin wasn’t sure he could have easily broken out of it. He was tempted to try and just get on the damn floor. Instead, almost without conscious decision, he slowly lowered himself back onto the mattress.

Once he was horizontal again, Dongmin huffed once more, this time seemingly of approval. His vice grip on Bin’s wrist relaxed, but didn’t fully retreat - instead, he held Bin’s wrist loosely, thumb swiping back and forth where arm became hand soothingly.

That was how Bin finally fell asleep - lured into unconsciousness by the warm palm and soothing rhythm of Dongmin’s thumb. 

* * *

As soon as he was asleep, Bin was dead to the world. He’d always been a heavy sleeper, and even having Dongmin in his bed was no exception to the rule. In fact, Bin slept until a sharp tug on his hair dragged him out of slumber. 

“Stop it,” he mumbled, batting at the offending hands. 

A high-pitched laugh answered him, along with a second yank at his hair.

“That’s it, Suminnie. Uncle Bin takes forever to wake up.”

Bin groaned, burying his face into his pillow as his niece climbed onto his back. Sumin made a delighted gurgle as she tugged at the neckline of his shirt. “What time is it?” he asked, mouth full of pillow.

The bed dipped near Bin’s knee as Sua sat down. “Almost ten,” she said. Sumin scrambled off of Bin’s back with a delighted laugh and fumbled towards her mother. Bin lifted his head, squinting in the morning light and rolled over to look at his sister. Sua’s short hair was pulled away from her face with a clip, and she regarded him with an unimpressed look on her face. “You do realize most functioning twenty seven year olds get up by nine, right? You've completely missed our arrival, you lazy ass.”

“Mmph.” Bin let his face drop back down into the pillow. He could practically hear Sua’s eyes roll in response. 

“I thought you might want to know that Seungkwan is about to kidnap your boyfriend to go ice skating,” Sua said primly.

“Boyfriend?” Bin mumbled sleepily. Then, with a start, he sat up. “Boyfriend - Dongmin?” Sure enough, the bed was empty but for him. Sumin screeched in delight as he finally began moving.

Sua raised a pointed eyebrow at him. “Unlike you, Dongmin-oppa has been up and socializing for the past two hours,” she said, scooting onto the bed more fully as Bin scrambled to get up.

Bin paused in his search for jeans, offended. “Dongmin-oppa? Seriously? You can’t call use honorifics with me after twenty five years, but Dongmin gets it in twenty five minutes?”

Sua smiled sweetly at him, pulling Sumin’s hair out of her face and stage whispering, “Tell Uncle Bin that he’s going to get left if he keeps asking silly questions.”

“Bin left!” Sumin parroted happily, and Bin had to bite his tongue to hold back expletives as he yanked a sweatshirt over his head.

Two minutes later he was thundering down the stairs. (“Wait, help me up! You cannot leave a pregnant woman stranded on a bed!” Sua yelled the first time he tried to dart out of the door.) He ran into the kitchen, nearly skidding to a stop as he hopped on one foot to try and get a thick sock on. “Are my skates from high school still in the garage?” he asked.

“Good morning, son of mine,” his mother said instead of answering. She was doing the washing up, and Bin had a hot flash of guilt about his unintended lie-in. “It’s lovely to see you. Did you sleep well?”

Bin squirmed, hopping to his other foot to shove his other sock on. “Yes ma’am,” he answered. Then, in a desperate attempt not to leave Dongmin to the mercy of Seungkwan and Myungjun, asked, “Do you want me to pick anything up on our way back for dinner?”

The corner of his mother’s mouth quirked up, and Bin could tell she was desperately trying not to laugh. Relief made his stomach swoop, and he darted over to the front door. “I’ll send you a grocery list,” his mother called as he shoved his feet into his shoes. “And yes, your skates are still in the garage.”

“Thanks, Mom!” Bin called, tearing out of the front door. 

“Late as ever, Bin!” Myungjun yelled from across the street. They seemed to be loading up into the old station wagon in the Boo driveway, and Bin’s only response was to give Myungjun the finger. Even from across the street Bin could see Dongmin’s smile, and his stomach swooped again as he shoved the garage door up and grabbed his old skates. A short jog across the street and he was tumbling into the car. 

“How’d you end up in the middle?” he asked Dongmin, slightly breathless. 

Dongmin opened his mouth to reply, but Seungkwan beat him to it. “Your boyfriend is _terrible_ at Wii Tennis,” he said, twisting around to back out of the driveway. 

“He still beat _you_ ,” Jinwoo said helpfully from the passenger seat. 

Seungkwan brushed the comment aside easily.  “Learn to drive a stick then, city boys,” he said, and tore down the street at an alarming speed. 

As the other three men in the car bickered about their driving skills, Dongmin turned a bit more fully towards Bin. “Good morning,” he said brightly. “You’re a heavy sleeper.”

“Yeah,” Bin agreed, melting under his gaze. “That’s me.” Dongmin’s smile was warm, and Bin wondered if this is what falling through the ice of a frozen lake would feel like - easy and weightless, but with the cold grip of reality encasing you from every side. _Bad things happen to people that lie,_ Bin remembered as he turned away, trying to convince his heart that he hadn’t already fallen. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> me, publishing six months ago: is february too late for a christmas fic?  
> me, updating in august when the heat index is literally 108 degrees: ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯


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